Franchise Awards 2004 - Full Results

by Simon Lord, last updated on 29th July 2009

Commercial cleaning company Cleantastic cleaned up at the 2004 Franchise Awards, taking the Westpac Supreme Award, sharing the ANZ Franchise System of the Year award with Star Mart and taking out the Exporter of the Year title as well. Brumby's Hot Bread Shops franchisees returned to their winning ways in the battle for Franchisee of the Year

Commercial cleaning company Cleantastic has impressed judges at this year’s Franchise Awards, winning not only the Westpac Supreme Award, but also Franchise System of the Year (Home Grown) and Franchise Exporter titles.

The Auckland-based company began nine years ago and has now expanded to 80 franchisees in New Zealand, 300 franchisees in Australia and has further plans to develop into the UK and Canada.

In accepting the Supreme Award Cleantastic founder Stu Beadle paid tribute to his wife and to New Zealand Master Franchisee Mark Gilbert, who was also present at the glittering Awards ceremony held at the Hyatt Auckland in the presence of Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Announcing the winners of the New Zealand Franchise Awards, Franchise Association of New Zealand (FANZ) chairman, Simon Lord, says the Awards are the premier franchising event of the year.

"The New Zealand Franchise Awards celebrate excellence in franchising, an industry worth well over $10 billion to New Zealand from 14,000 franchised outlets and employing around 70,000 people," he says.

The winner of the Supreme Award for 2004 is Cleantastic. Over the past nine years commercial cleaning company Cleantastic has shown a strong track record with profitable business at all levels. New Zealand Franchise Awards judge Heather Douglas says, "Cleantastic has shown its multi-faceted strengths in franchise systems, as well as in the master franchisee arena and within the individual franchisees businesses. Being so strong in all three areas made them a natural candidate for the Supreme Award." Award sponsored by Westpac

The Star Mart team celebrate winning the Franchise System of the Year - Imported title

The Star Mart franchise system has grown rapidly since its inception in 1997, now comprising a total of 116 stores across New Zealand. “I was impressed with Star Mart’s submission. They communicated their goal of excellence in franchising within New Zealand in a clear and comprehensive manner, and then followed through with a presentation of the franchise system that was refreshingly honest as well as superior,” says judge Sarah Trotman. Award sponsored by ANZ

Cleantastic also won the Franchise System of the Year - Home Grown title, presented by ANZ's Kevin Hughes and Prime Minister Helen Clark

Cleantastic first developed effective systems in New Zealand and then focused on growth in Australia. Now they are moving into the UK market and are poised to do the same in Canada. “It’s remarkable for a company like Cleantastic to start a business from scratch and develop it as methodically, effectively and excellently as they have,” says judge Heather Douglas. Award sponsored by ANZ

Winners of the Master Franchisee of the Year title Mike & Vicki Wiggins of Icon Business Solutions. The Award was presented by Prime Minister Helen Clark and Andrew Durrans of award sponsors Brebner Print

Icon Business Solutions uses a systems-based approach to improve client companies’ functioning and profitability. Mike and Vicki Wiggins started out as franchisees of Icon Business Solutions and purchased the New Zealand master franchise in 2002. “Icon not only deliver an excellent system to clients; their belief in it is so strong they put themselves through the process too. The fine-tuning and improvement of systems in the last two years has meant increased success,” comments judge Shelley Eden. Award sponsored by Brebner Print

Franchisees of the Year Tina and Gerard Kennedy with Sally Wood of award sponsor Franchise New Zealand and Prime Minister Helen Clark

The coveted Franchisee of the Year award went to Tina and Gerard Kennedy of Brumby’s Bakery, Rotorua. According to judge Michele Pleydell, the couple are deserving winners. “What stood out was their improvement of turnover, growth in customer count and increased sales per person. Brumby’s Rotorua function well as a team and also contribute largely to the community, which were other contributing factors in their success." Award sponsored by Franchise New Zealand magazine & website.

The inaugural winner of the new Service Provider of the Year category was Auckland lawyer Stewart Germann. Stewart Germann Law Office specialises in franchising and, in addition to being a past Chairman of the Franchise Association, Stewart is the only non-North American to sit on the supplier's board of the Washington-based International Franchise Association. The award was sponsored by Westpac.

The winner of the Franchise Association of New Zealand's Media Award is Fiona Rotherham of Unlimited magazine for her article on Bill McGowan and the Fastway franchise “Couriers to the Globe”.

Prime Minister Helen Clark presented the major awards to winners. "We are delighted that the Prime Minister was able to celebrate with us the individuals and organisations who make up the franchise sector,' says Simon Lord. 'Franchising provides training, practical business education and support to thousands of small business people in this country and is a powerful contributor to our economy. The Franchise Association exists to promote excellence in franchising, and the awards identify businesses which are operating to the highest international standards."

The cost of buying into a franchise ranges from under $5000 to over $1 million. What matters is not how much you have to spend, but how much you – and your new business – can afford. That may mean arranging finance.

Find out how franchising really works – particularly the unique relationship that exists between franchisees and franchisors. You will be appointed as a franchisee because you have the potential to succeed in a particular franchise, you'll be given a proven product or service and then trained and supported as you grow – but you will succeed or fail on your own merits.

The greatest single source of information on any franchise system is going to be the franchisors themselves, so don’t hesitate to ask questions. Prepare for every meeting by making a list of the questions you want to ask, and write down the answers. Be prepared to say if you don’t understand anything - the better informed you are, the more likely it is you will make the right decision.

You need to go into any franchise with a good understanding of what is involved, so make sure you find out everything you can about the business in advance. The franchisor will provide a lot of information and the amount of detail will increase as you get more serious, but you should also read everything you can about the company in magazines, trade journals and on the internet.

There is probably a franchise available in almost any industry that interests you (see our Directory). This is good, because you will have a good choice of opportunities. But it's important to research not just the franchise but also your chosen industry to make sure the business has a real future in New Zealand.

The best way to get information about the performance of the franchise is to talk to franchisees who are already operating the business. You will get a realistic assessment of the return to expect; the hours required; the assistance provided by the franchisor and the everyday experiences of a franchisee.

Franchisors won’t usually make financial projections for any new business but should be able to provide you with figures based either upon the performance of an existing franchise or company-owned outlet. Some offer work or income guarantees that may be attractive to the newcomer. Get an accountant with experience of franchising to assess all figures.

A franchise is like a marriage – but with more paperwork! Most franchise agreements are lengthy documents (40-60 pages), and are couched in legal language. That’s why you must get a franchise-experienced lawyer to check over the franchise agreement. If you don’t understand what you are getting into then you could be in for some nasty surprises further down the track.

Before you sign the agreement and write the cheque, make absolutely certain you know what the up-front franchise fee covers. If you change your mind, pulling out may be expensive. You must also have a clear understanding in writing of any ongoing fees which are payable. It is important that you are aware of what fees are payable, how they are calculated and what they are for.